


Bringing Home Strays

by mallardeer



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-29
Updated: 2017-03-29
Packaged: 2018-10-12 17:32:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10496073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mallardeer/pseuds/mallardeer
Summary: Kara and Lena dog-sit for the weekend. Very fluff, very antidote for canon.





	

**Author's Note:**

> If you would like to learn more about the origins of Trash Dog, you can read this other thing I wrote: http://archiveofourown.org/works/10437396

“Here you are,” Kara greets her with a soft smile, and because she knows how long the week has been, puts a tumbler of whiskey in her hand instead of the usual glass of wine.  
  
“You are an angel,” Lena sighs, making sure to kiss her girlfriend before taking a grateful sip of her drink.   
  
“Or something like that,” Kara laughs, heading to the stove, where something that smells absolutely delicious is simmering. 

Lena sets down her things, sheds her coat, and kicks off her heels. She is ready to collapse on the couch and let Kara bring her dinner, but then her phone rings. “Oh, what,” she mutters, but dutifully checks it. The display says Alex Danvers, and she frowns.

“Don’t answer that, Lee, come on,” Kara begs from the kitchen.   
  
“Hello?” she says, shrugging at Kara, who just rolls her eyes.   
  
“Lena, hey. Sorry to bug you, but I need a favor,” Alex says quickly.  
  
“Sure, how can I help?”   
  
“Who is that?” Kara demands, and so Lena mouths, “your sister,” and Kara blinks in surprise.   
  
“Would you guys mind watching Trash Dog for the weekend? Maggie and I finally have time off that lines up, and I want to get her out of the city.”  
  
“Yeah, of course,” Lena agrees easily, stifling a laugh at Trash Dog. “Why didn’t you just call Kara?”  
  
“To be honest, just so I could call him Trash Dog without someone yelling at me,” Alex admits, and Lena guffaws.   
  
“Tell Alex I can HEAR her,” Kara calls. “And his name is Rascal!”  
  
“You know your sister has super-powers, right?” Lena asks, and Alex laughs.   
  
“Well, he’ll always be Trash Dog to us. Mind if we drop him off in…twenty minutes?”  
  
“Sure, Alex. We’re at my place.”  
  
“Thanks, Lena, really.”   
  
“It’s no trouble,” Lena promises, and goes to join Kara in the kitchen. “Good news. We have custody of Rascal this weekend,” she shares, even though Kara’s probably already heard.  
  
“Aw, Rascal and his four mommies,” Kara giggles. “You don’t mind? We can go to my place so he doesn’t destroy this museum you live in.”

“Hey. I just moved here,” Lena protests, but it is true that her apartment is…spare.

“A year and a half ago,” Kara retorts. 

“Well, I told Alex we were here, and you have dinner ready, so we can stay here; it’s fine.”

“Okay,” Kara says dubiously. 

Alex, Maggie, and a very joyful mutt arrive minutes later, and Kara squeals and runs to the door. “Oh boy. You sure you want this disaster in your apartment, Luthor?” Maggie worries, as she realizes how clean everything is and how…expensive the furnishings look.  
  
“It’s fine,” Lena insists. “There’s nothing in this apartment that can’t be replaced,” she says, and then winces as all four of them realize how depressing that sounds.  
  
“Well, thanks. We appreciate it.”  
  
Kara plays with the dog while Alex hands over all of his supplies: collar, leash, water bowl, food bowl, food, three favorite toys. “Be good, buddy,” Maggie tells him, kissing his head, and even Alex leaves him with an affectionate pat.  
  
“Have fun, guys!” Kara calls, and then they’re alone with the dog.   
  
Kara gets up and sees about their dinner, and Lena figures Rascal will feel left out, so she feeds him. He gulps down his food and then follows them to the table, parking himself next to Kara hopefully. “Oh, we got a little beggar, do we?” she laughs.   
  
“Do not feed him,” Lena commands. “He will puke everywhere.”  
  
“Oh. You’re probably right. Sorry, Rascal, this is people food,” Kara says sadly. 

Rascal mopes for a few minutes, but then gets the bright idea to go and sit by Lena. And Kara laughs and laughs. Lena smirks and reaches down to pet the dog, but scolds him for begging. Even though he is very cute. "That's enough, Trash Dog," she says fondly, and merely smiles in the face of Kara's scowl.

  
"He was not in the trash," Kara mutters. "He was...next to it."  
  
Lena shakes her head, but leans over to kiss her. "I know, darling."

After dinner, Lena does the dishes, and Kara happily takes Rascal out for his walk. When they don't come back for an hour, Lena wishes she'd gone with them. But she is bone weary, and lying curled up on the couch in Kara's over-sized sweatshirt is about all she can handle anyway. 

When Rascal and Kara return, she's on the verge of falling asleep, but the barking and Kara's cheerful, “Who’s a good boy?” jolt her back to wakefulness. 

"Did you walk all the way to Metropolis?" she asks, and Kara looks sheepish.

"Sorry. We were...having fun," she says, with a grin that says “Please forgive me?” 

"You're very cute," Lena sighs. "So I suppose I can't be mad at you."  
  
"Oh, good," Kara says, pretending to be immensely relieved, and then she and Rascal join her on the couch.   
  
Rascal yips and licks her face before settling this his head and front paws in her lap. Lena has never had a pet before, never been interested in taking care of something else, but damn if this little mutt hasn't wriggled his way into her heart. She pets his head and scratches behind his ears, setting his tail wagging like mad.   
  
"Awww, you love Trash Dog," Kara says, pleased. 

“You can call him Trash Dog?”

“Yes. I do it with love.”

“And I don't?”

“Oh. I guess I kind of thought you were making fun of him. Or me.”

“Kara… I am teasing you, but this guy is very sweet, and it is very you to bring home a stray,” she says, suddenly feeling tears sting her eyes. After all, isn’t that what Kara had done for Lena herself? Discovered a lonely stray, hidden behind the mask of world-weary CEO, and taken her home to be adopted by this warm, mismatched, lovely family?

Kara sees the tears right away and looks at her questioningly, but she shakes her head. So Kara just kisses her softly and puts an arm around her shoulders. Lena lets herself collapse against the warmth and solidity of her girlfriend. “You think you were a stray I brought home?” Kara asks gently. 

“Is mind-reading a super power you neglected to tell me about?” Lena asks, closing her eyes.  
  
“No. Just…Lena-reading seems to be one I’ve picked up,” Kara says, beginning to stroke Lena’s dark hair. 

“Sometimes it’s hard to face just how lonely I was before I met you,” Lena admits. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m being so morose.”

“You don’t have to apologize. I still feel lonely, sometimes,” Kara says, suddenly sounding very distant.  
  
“You do? But…everyone loves you,” Lena says lamely. But it’s hard to imagine that Kara Danvers, the light of everyone’s life, ever feels alone. 

Kara laughs a little and leans down to kiss the crown of Lena’s head with a tenderness that makes Lena’s heart ache. “My whole world is gone,” she explains. “My whole family, except for Clark, who I barely knew anyway, because he was so little, everything I ever knew…just doesn’t exist anymore. It was…hard finding a way to feel connected to Earth, to my human family. But I am so lucky Clark sent me to the Danverses.”

“So you were a stray too,” Lena says, lifting her head up, and Kara smiles a little sadly.

“I was. And maybe that’s why I was drawn to you; your loneliness called to mine. And I wanted to share the warmth I’ve been able to find here, with you.”

The tears fall freely now, and when Kara reaches up to brush them off her cheeks, Lena sees that her eyes are full as well. “Thank you,” Lena says, though it’s far from adequate.

“I love you,” Kara tells her, and Lena kisses her, trying to convey all her love, her gratitude.  
  
“I love you,” Lena whispers when they part, and she lets her head rest on Kara’s shoulder.   
  
“Okay, how about we take a break from the heavy stuff and watch something dumb?” Kara suggests, and Lena gratefully agrees. 

They fall asleep there on the couch, Rascal still curled up half on top of Lena, all of them experiencing the exact opposite of loneliness. 

It’s Kara who wakes up first, to the TV playing an infomercial and Rascal’s snuffly snores. Lena, completely exhausted, is still fast asleep, so Kara carefully gets up, turns off the TV, and lifts Lena into her arms. “Come on, Rascal,” she says quietly, and he stretches before following them to bed. 

Rascal immediately hops up onto the bed and settles with his head on Lena’s legs again, and Kara just smiles. “She…probably won’t kill me if I let you sleep with us,” she tells the dog. “Right?”

Lena wakes up to sunlight streaming into her bedroom window, Kara wrapped around her back, and Rascal lying across her feet. For a moment, she’s charmed at this coziness, but then she realizes that Trash Dog is getting his fur all over her bed. “Kara,” she says, elbowing her roughly. It doesn’t hurt her, and it is usually the only way to wake her up. “You let the dog sleep in here?”

“He likes you,” Kara says sleepily, and then Rascal is awake, barking and jumping up to lick their faces.   
  
“He sheds,” Lena groans, as she gets up. “Come on, Trash Dog,” she says, ushering him out of the bedroom.   
  
Figuring he probably needs to go outside, she throws on a pair of yoga pants, puts on his collar and leash, and takes him downstairs. The morning is bright and warm, and Rascal is a ball of energy, so she lets him take her for a walk. On the way back, she stops to pick up coffees and a box of pastries for Kara. 

Kara gets up when she hears the front door close and realizes with a start that Lena has taken the dog for a walk, without prompting. “She does love him,” she thinks, delighted. Her suspicions are further confirmed when they don’t return for almost an hour. 

Rascal barks his greeting as soon as the door opens, and she runs to hug him. Then she notices that Lena has brought home breakfast, and she leaps up to hug her. “Kara!” Lena laughs, setting everything on the counter to quickly prevent it from becoming breakfast for the dog.   
  
“You and Rascal had a nice walk,” Kara comments, opening the box to find an assortment of muffins, buns, and scones. “Wow. What did I do to deserve so many delicious, horrible things to eat?” she asks, and Lena smiles and kisses her nose.   
  
“I just love you,” she says, and Kara beams at her. “Also, yes, Rascal and I are getting along famously,” she reports, and Rascal barks his agreement. 

“I am very glad,” Kara says, and grabs three pastries and sits down at the table to inhale them. And possibly drop a couple of crumbs for the mutt waiting at her feet. Lena just leans against the counter, sipping her coffee and watching them fondly. 

Sunday night finds the three of them on Lena’s couch again, worn out after a day in the park. Lena is stretched out with her head pillowed in Kara’s lap, and Rascal is possessively curled up on top of her feet. Kara is watching television, but Lena and the dog have already fallen asleep. 

When the door buzzes, Kara slides a pillow under Lena’s head and goes to let Maggie and Alex inside. “Shh, they just fell asleep,” she whispers, and both of them laugh. 

“Oh, that’s very sweet,” Maggie says, kind of shocked to see Rascal using Lena as a pillow. 

“You guys wanna keep him?” Alex asks, and Maggie socks her playfully.  
  
“Oh. Yes. We do,” Kara says, nodding. “But he’s Maggie’s.”  
  
“Yes, he’s mine,” Maggie says, and whistles for her dog.  
  
Rascal’s up and at her feet in seconds, yelping and barking and jumping up on her. “I missed you too, buddy,” she laughs, hugging him.   
  
“He didn’t give you any trouble?” Alex asks, and Kara shakes her head.   
  
“Well, Lena didn’t love how much he sheds, but he was perfectly behaved.”  
  
“Ugh, I know. I haven’t been not covered in dog hair in three months,” Alex complains, but gives up when both her girlfriend and her sister scowl at her. “All right, all right. We all love Trash Dog. Come on, Rascal.” She slips his collar and leash on, and Kara goes to collect his supplies.   
  
Lena finally wakes up and hurries over to say goodbye to Rascal, who licks her face and bumps her chin with his head. Alex is basically astonished to see meticulous Lena let Trash Dog lick her without even flinching. “Yeah. Lena is on Team Rascal,” Kara tells her sister. “You’re the last holdout.”  
  
“Oh hey. I like the dog,” Alex insists, but she hasn’t really figured out how bond with it the way Maggie and Kara—and now, apparently, Lena have.   
  
“She likes the dog fine, Little Danvers,” Maggie says defensively, and Kara laughs as she realizes Maggie thinks she might want to actually steal Rascal.

“Okay, okay. Everyone loves Trash Dog,” Lena says, standing up. “Take him home, Sawyer.”

“Thank you, I will,” Maggie says archly, but she grins at Lena. 

“Oh, brother,” Alex says, as Kara hands over his accessories, but she knocks against Maggie’s shoulder and eventually smiles. “Thank you for watching him,” she says, mostly to Lena.

“It was our pleasure,” Lena assures her, as Kara nods enthusiastically. 

Once Maggie, Alex, and the dog are gone, Lena immediately goes to find her vacuum. “Oh, come on, Lee, do you have to do that now?” Kara whines.

“Yes,” Lena says brusquely, in that tone that will hear no argument, and begins to vacuum the entire apartment, top to bottom, at nine o’clock on a Sunday night.

Kara, folded into herself in a corner of the couch, arms over her ears in a futile effort to block out the horrible hum of the motor, decides her own dreams for getting a dog will have to be put on hold. “I’m going to sleep at Maggie’s!” she threatens, but can only laugh when Lena shrugs at her in response. 

Eventually, Lena is satisfied with the cleanliness of her home, and eventually, Kara’s ears stop ringing. When Lena joins her on the couch, she immediately puts her head in Lena’s lap and Lena’s hand on her head. Chuckling, Lena obediently begins to stroke her hair. “I’m sorry I had to bring out the terrifying vacuum,” she teases.   
  
“I forgive you,” Kara mumbles, and lets Lena’s gentle fingers soothe her. “Kal-El—Clark—had a dog, you know, on Krypton. And his dad sent him out in a prototype ship ahead of us.”

“So what, is there a Superdog wandering around on earth?” Lena asks, amused.   
  
“Well, probably not. We never heard from that ship.” Kara sighs. “He loved that dog; he learned to walk by holding onto its collar. My parents never let me have a pet.”  
  
“What about Eliza?”

“Oh, well, I had hamsters and a goldfish, and Alex had a cat. But they’re not the same as a dog.”

“It was nice to hang out with Rascal for the weekend,” Lena says carefully, worried Kara is about to ask her if they can get a pet. 

“I promise I will not bring another stray dog home,” Kara says, reading her mind again. “Or if I do, I will leave it with Maggie.”  
  
Lena laughs and tugs Kara up into a sitting position. “Maybe someday,” she says softly, and Kara’s eyes light up.   
  
Maybe someday is more than good enough for her. 


End file.
